Gun-mount.



GUN MOUNT. APPLIQATION FIL-ED JUNE 9, 1913.

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"Il l L. V. BBNET & H. A. MERGIB GUN MOUNT. APPLICATION FILED JUNE s, 191s.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914 4 SHEETS-SHEET s.

L. V. BBNT @L H. A. MERGIB.

GUN MOUNT. APPLICATION H LBD JUNE 9, 191s.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

LAURENCE VINCENT BnNT AND' HENRI ALBERT Mauern,

F PARIS, FRANCE.

GUN-MOUNT.

Application led J une 9, 1913. Serial No. 772,620.

pecication of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 3,1314.

To all 'whom 'ifmuy concern: A

Be it known that we,vLAURnNon VINCENT BENT and HENRI ALBERT Menem, citizens of the United States and France, respectively,'residing' at Paris, in the Republic of 'France Vhave invented certain newjand useful Improvements in Gun-Mouiitsg and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description `of the invention, such as will enable otheis'skilled in the art to which it appertains to makeand use the same.

Our present invention relates to improvements in mounts for machine guns, and especially in mounts for small portable niachine guns ofthe Benet and Merci type, such, for instance, as described in the .U1 S. patents oi- Benet and Merci gas operated guns #861989, granted July 30, 1907, and portable guns #959291, granted May 24, 1910, In such gun mounts it is essential that the apparatus be very light .and also compact `for transportation, quickly adjustable and readily attachable to or removed from the gun, so that the gun may be used either with Ithe mount, lor separate therefrom, and the parts mayv bereadily assembled or disassembled as required. While such guns of this class are capable of being used from the shoulder, at the same time it is desirable tov insure greater steadiness of aim and accuracy of firing that the gun be supported upon a suitable mount, and that suitable elevating and training gear may be provided whereby the wellknownl advantages of ring froma mount rather' than from the shoulder yare secured.

Our invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which ,the 'same parts are indicated by the same "reference symbols throughout the Several views.

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the gun and mount; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the ,mount with. the gun removed therefrom;

Fig.l 3 shows a section through the spade and I base of the elevating and training gear along the line 3-'-3 of Fig. 2, and looking in the directionof the arrows.;A Fig. 4 is a front view :of the mount with` the gun removed,

part being shown in` elevation andp'art in section along the line 4 4 of Fig-1; Fig. 5`

shows .a section through the head'pf the mount l,ith the muzzle of the gun barrel latter being shown .in

loonnected th'lib the i dotted linesg Fig;` 6 shows fon a larger scale #959291 aforesaid.

' narilv the head of the mount-*with the socket in elevation; Fig. 7 is a plan .view ofthe device v mount as seen from-the front, the section being along the line 4 8 of' Fig. 6; and Fig.v

'9 shows the upper porti-'onof Fig. 6 on a larger scale.

A represents the gun havingthe stock a, the shoulder rest a, and the pistol grip a. The gun is provided with suitable elevat-V in'g and training gear such, for instance, as are shown in the Bent and Merci Patent Any suitable elevating and traininggear may be used if desired; and these, invention, herein.

The gun mount comprises a trail with two legs hinged thereto, a housing connected to will not'be specifically described trail and legs, and a socket piece' to which the muzzle of the nected. The ,trailv shape and consists gun is detachably conpreferably of two. cheeks,

in the form of U-shaped metal plates Secured together as by the rods 2, and secured Vat their front ends to the housing 3. .'.lhe

rear end of the trail carries the shoe 4 to which is ttached the spade 5. i This shoe 4 is provided with side flanges 6 which sei-ve not only to stiften the sides ofthe shoe but also to act as guides for the feet 7 ofthe elevating gea-r 8,-thus permitting the said elevating gear a slight longitudinal movement relative to the shoe 4 as the gun is elevated or depressed. Y

The front end of the housing 3 has sleeves not being a part' of our present 4 may be of any` desired 10 projecting downwardly therefrom, inA

which-is swiveled the tube 11,l the ends of which tube are slotted as. at 1 2 to `receive the ends 13- ofthe tubular `legs 14 `and 141.y

which legs are connected together by ,a hinged separator composed, for instance, of two links 15 hinged together as 4at 16 and provided with outwardly-extending arms 17 adapted to engage the lugs 18 andto' ordi' braceiorto be bent orform a rigid broken when it is desired to fold the legs along the, barrel as shown indotted lines in Figs. l and '2. Each ofthese legs ispreferably provided with aspade or holding blade 19, thereto 'as at y legs 14 and 14 are provided with arms 13 having inwardly projecting teeth 22 -ars ranged in the arc of a circle to engage the 'and with a shoe 20v hinged 21. The uppellends ofthe Titeln 124. By bending the joint 16 of the' separator, the teeth 22 will become disengaged from the teeth 23 on the racks 24, and

,5, the said legs may be swung about the horizontal. axis 11 raising or lowering the said axis, and correspondingly raising or loweringthe pivotal support for the muzzle of the piece.

The housing 3 has swiveled therein the yoke 30, the two parts being preferably connected together by means of the screwthreaded connection 31 (see Figs. 4,' 5 and 8), and the lower end of the yoke resting L on suitable spring washers 32. The arms 33 of this yoke are provided with trunnion seats 34 in which are swiveled the trunnions 35 of the cradle 36 supporting the muzzle of the gun. This cradle is provided with 'fa zo 'cover 37 hinged to the cradle as at 38. An

overhanging armV 39 of said cover is provided with a casing 40 in which is mounted a spring lock 41 adapted to engage in 'a notch 42 in the trunnion 35, as shown in Figs. 6 and 9. This spring lock is provided with a handle 43, so that it may be withdrawn and disengaged from the trunnion when it is desired to lift the .hinged cover. The front end of the'barrel is provided with annular notches 44 to engage the annula! ribs 45 in the cradle and 46 inthe cover, as shown in Figs. 5 and 8, whereby the gun is locked to the mount against recoiling thereon.

muzzle pivot, While the' cradle 36 will pen imit it to be swung through the desired angle `)lin elevation, about the muzzle pivot, and thus a universal jointfor the barrel supporting head is provided. The line (see Fig. l) indicates the maximum angle of elevation of the gun relativeto the llevel of the ground; and the line lifting the muzzle of thegun out of engage.

ment with the cradle, while the parts may he readily restored to'theinitial position by reversing this operation.' It will be noted that the front legs 14 :.id le" may be quick-ly and readily moved to the desired angle of inclination as hereinbefore described, thus varying the height of the muzzle pivot; or `when not in use the said, legs maybe swunglThe yoke 3l will permit x`the gun to be swung through an angle laterally about thev alongside'the cheeks of thel trail, as shownv in dotted lines in Figs. 'land 2, and then secured in position as for purposes of transportation. Thus it will be seen that the gun may be employed entirely independently of the mount, or it may be used mounted thereon and fired therefrom 'as hereinbefore described. y By having the gun pivot at or near the muzzle, it will be obvious that av slight displacement either in train -or in elevation at the. breech would cause less error in the line of fire than if the gun were trunnioned 'farther in the rear, or. especially near the breech, as is generally the case with heavy ordnance. One advantage of this arrangement is that more movement is permitted to the breech of the gun either in elevation or train to vary the direction of the line of tire without throwing it much off the target. This is especially important in the quick manual control to which such guns are ordinarily used. Another advantagel of this arrangement is that the strain from the recoil being thrown on the barrel supporting head, is transmitted at a small 'angle only, or almost in a straight line rto the spade 5, thus reducing to a minimum the vibrations of the gun, and lessening the shock on the shoulder of the gun servant. f 4 It will be obvious that various modifications might be made in the herein described apparatus, and in the construction, combination and arrangement of partsv which could be used without departing from the spirit oi" our invention.

Having thus described our invention what we claim and desire to secure by vLetters Patent of the United States is; 1. The combination with a gun mount provided with a trail and housing, two front legshinged to said housing and adaptedto be swung about a horizontal axis therein, the said housing and said front legs bemg provided with engaging rack teeth, a swiveled head carried by said housing, a gun,

gun near the `muzzle tosaid swiveled head, substantially as described.

. 2. The combination with a gun mount provided with a trail and housing, two front legs hinged to said housing and adapted to be swung about ahorizontal axis therein, the said housing and said front legs being provided with engaging'rack teeth, a hinged separator adapted to separate 'said front legs, a swiveled'headcarried by said housy ing, a gun, and means 'for' detachably connectingsaid gun near the muzzle to' said swiveled'head, Substantially as described.

i 3. ',ll'i'e"jrclombination with a gun mount provided with a trail and housing, two front legs hinged to said housing and adapted to be swungy about a horizontal axis therein, the saidhousing and said front legs being provided with engaging rack teeth, a swiv- 139 110,4 \and means for detachably connecting Said eled head carried ,by said housing, a gun, and means ij'or detachably connecting said gun near the muzzlelto said swiveled head, with means for vertically moving the breech said gun, substantially asl described. The combination with a gun mount provided with a trail and housing, two front legs hinged to said housing and adapted to be swung'about a horizontal axis therein, the said housing andr said front legs being provided with engaging rack teeth, a hinged separator adapted toseparate said front legs, a swiveled head carried by said housing, a gun, and means for detachably connecting said gun near the muzzle to said swiveled head, with means for vertically moving the breech of said gun, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a gun mount provided with a trail, two front legs hinged ,to said trail and adapted to be swung about a horizontal axis and fixed in the desired position, a housing carried by the head of said trail and provided with interior screw threads therein, a swiveled head carried by said hoising and provided with exterior screw threads engaging those inthe housing, a gun, and a cradle carried by said swiveled head for detachably connecting said gun near the muzzle to said swiveled head,

-`substantially as described.

G. The combination with a gun mount vided with a trail, two front legs hinged to said trail and adapted to be swung about a horizontal axis and fixed in the desired position, a housing 'carried by the head of said trail and provided with interior scren7 threads therein, a swiveled head carried by said housing and provided with exterior screw threads engaging those in the housing, a gun, and a cradle carried by said swiveledV` head for detachably connecting said gun near the ninzzle to said swiveled head, with means for moving vertically the breech of said gun, substantially as described.

7. The combination of a gun mount provided with a head comprising a housing provided with interior screw threads therein, a yoke mounted on said housing and provided with exterior screw threads engaging those in the housing, a cradle journaled in said yoke,l a gun, and means for detachably connecting the barrel of said gun near its -muzzle to said cradle with means 'for verhousing, a yoke mounted on said housing, a

cradle journaled in said yoke, a hinged cover tor said cradle, and a spring lock for said cover comprising a coll spring and a plunger adapted to positively lock said cover to' said cradle, substantially as described.

10. The combination with a gun, of a gun mount comprising a housing provided with internal screw threads therein, a trail secured to said housing, front legs adjustably hinged to said housing, a yoke provided with exterior screw threads engaging those in said housing, and a cradle journaled in said yoke, substantially as described.

l1. rlhe combination with a gun, of a gun mount comprising a housing provided with internal screw threads therein, a trail secured to said housing, front legs adjustably hinged to said housing, a yoke provided with exterior screw threads engaging those vin said housing, a cradle journaled in said yoke, a hinged cover for said cradle, and a spring lock for said cover comprising a coil spring and a plunger adapted to positively lock said cover to said cradle, substantially as described.

in testimony whereof, we aiiix our signatures, in presence of two witnesses.

LAURENCE X/TINCENT EIENT. HENRI ALBERT MERCIE.

'Witnesses STELLA B. ENGLER, ANTONIO LAzo. ,Alum Gunn, J. A. CHOUINARDT. 

